'New Generation' Sizzler Reopens This Weekend

After a months-long renovation that essentially rebuilt the restaurant from scratch, the "new generation"  in Lake Forest is ready to invite hungry fans back inside.

It will reopen its doors to the public 11 a.m. Saturday.

"We're excited," said Gary Myers, president of BMW Management, which operates a number of California Sizzler restaurants. "There's something here for everyone."

As part of an overall modernization of the Sizzler concept, the building was expanded by about 1,500 square feet. The Lake Forest eatery also now has amenities such as flat-screen TVs and colorful, Americana-themed decor.

At the restaurant Thursday, employees and contractors bustled about fine-tuning the dining area decor, stocking a massive refrigerated room and unloading the last few piles of cardboard boxes.

"By the end of the day, everything will be lined up where it should go," Myers said.

Already lined up are three barbecues outside the restaurant's front door, which the restaurant has permission to operate temporarily until the city's Planning Commission decides if the use is appropriate.

Whether two large murals featuring the American flag and other images that reflect the restaurant's "hospitality" will be allowed on the building's exterior is still undecided, Myers said.

"It'll stay blank there until we work it out," he said.

He plans to bring revamped plans back before the Planning Commission in a second attempt to win the city's permission.

Employee Brian Smith has worked at the Lake Forest franchise for 25 years. He called the revamp "stellar."

"It's like night and day, the difference," he said.

Smith helped train the newly hired Lake Forest employees at other recently renovated Sizzlers in Southern California.

That meant that he could continue his quarter-decade streak of employment with the company while the restaurant in Lake Forest was under construction, he said.

Sizzler is still hiring additional employees, Myers added Thursday.

The restaurant, at 23501 El Toro Rd., is open every day from 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.

Check the photos to the right of this article for a behind-the-scenes peek into the renovated restaurant.